i. Biography
His earliest education came inside his family’s Chinese restaurants, where service set the pace and the wok line set the standard. In that environment, Henry Lu learned kitchen rhythm from the ground up: heat, timing, coordination, and the discipline required to keep a room moving. The result was an early, practical understanding of hospitality that still informs how he cooks and leads.
Coming Up
Training at French Culinary Institute added formal technique to Henry Lu’s foundation before he moved through a fast rise across New York kitchens. He worked as restaurant worker at Family's Chinese restaurants in The Bronx, NY, then as Sous Chef at Pearl and Ash in Manhattan, NY, and as Sous Chef at Llama Inn in Williamsburg, NY, before becoming Executive Chef at Four Happy Men Hospitality Group. The sequence shows a cook building range through service, technique, and repetition, while keeping contact with the flavors that first shaped his palate. Today, Henry is chef/owner of JŪN and byKIN since 2020. Those roles frame a kitchen approach that moves across influences without flattening them into one style. The throughline is not narrow signature for its own sake, but a way of organizing ideas, memories, and technique into dishes that keep their reference points visible.
Where They Are Now
His own description of the work is direct: "I still view food as something that transcends and has no boundaries." Coming from someone whose path runs from family restaurants to New York dining rooms and then to his own kitchens, the line reads as method rather than slogan. He adds, "I love to cook and pull inspiration from all across the board, highlighting and blurring the lines that divide us." That is the basic operating principle here: connect traditions, combine them carefully, and let the plate carry the conversation.
Signature
Henry's signature dishes include Fried Chicken, tteokbokki coated in fermented yellow bean béchamel, and brisket braised in peanut curry. Read together, they show a kitchen working across texture, comfort, and contrast: crisp against rich, familiar forms handled with a wider set of references, and combinations that push without losing the plate’s center. The dishes point to a cook interested in range, not restriction.
In Their Words “Cooking fascinated me. Watching the guys work the woks was so thrilling and fun.” “I still view food as something that transcends and has no boundaries.”
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Henry
Where did Henry Lu train or study?
Henry Lu trained at French Culinary Institute.
